{"id":6566,"date":"2026-06-04T08:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/?p=6566"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:50:07","slug":"chalk-talk-summary-an-id-approach-to-lymphadenopathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/2026\/06\/04\/chalk-talk-summary-an-id-approach-to-lymphadenopathy\/","title":{"rendered":"Chalk Talk Summary: An ID Approach to Lymphadenopathy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:36% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2026\/05\/ID-Chalk-Talk-2026-1024x683.png\" alt=\"Chalkboard-style banner reading \u201cID Chalk Talk\u201d in large white text on a dark background, with a central speech bubble outline. Subtle colored accents include a red stethoscope on the left, a blue stick of chalk on the right, and small teal and red microbe icons scattered across the image.\" class=\"wp-image-6573 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2026\/05\/ID-Chalk-Talk-2026-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2026\/05\/ID-Chalk-Talk-2026-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2026\/05\/ID-Chalk-Talk-2026-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2026\/05\/ID-Chalk-Talk-2026-900x600.png 900w, https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2026\/05\/ID-Chalk-Talk-2026.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p style=\"font-size:23px\"><strong>Faculty Teaching Tools: Chalk Talk Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u270d\ud83c\udffd <em>This is a summary of a chalk talk developed by <strong>Molly Hillenbrand, MD<\/strong> \u2014 Vice Chief, Quality and Safety and Assistant Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at Duke University.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Lymphadenopathy is a common ID consult, but it\u2019s usually <strong>a clue, not the diagnosis<\/strong>. A structured approach can simplify what often feels like a broad and complex differential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Start by organizing causes along two axes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Type of infection<\/strong> (viral, bacterial, mycobacterial, fungal, parasitic)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Distribution<\/strong> (localized vs. generalized)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, let the <strong>history guide you<\/strong>. Pay close attention to illness tempo, systemic symptoms, travel, animal exposures, sexual practices, and immune status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few high-yield patterns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Localized, acute LAD<\/strong> \u2192 often viral or bacterial (URI, skin infection, Bartonella)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Generalized or systemic LAD<\/strong> \u2192 consider EBV, HIV, TB, or endemic fungi<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exposure-driven clues<\/strong> are essential (cats, travel, occupational risks)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t forget:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>TB can present with isolated LAD: <strong>biopsy may be needed even with negative tests<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Persistent LAD warrants evaluation for <strong>malignancy or inflammatory disease<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>LAD may be <strong>multifactorial<\/strong>, so reassessment after treatment is key<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> A simple framework\u2014<em>infection type \u00d7 distribution, anchored in history<\/em>\u2014helps turn a broad differential into a focused one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\ud83d\udc49For the full chalk talk, examples, and teaching framework, visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/idsame.notion.site\/ID-Chalk-Talks-37138fc2c0444f66b24b2c676be9ae1a\">complete resource<\/a> hosted by the IDSA Medical Education Community of Practice: Teaching &amp; Learning Resources<\/em>. Future chalk talk posts will include several smaller bites of multiple chalk talk summaries to encourage more learning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<form name=\"s2form\" method=\"post\" action=\"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/subscribe2\/\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"ip\" value=\"140.248.79.33\" \/><span style=\"display:none !important\"><label for=\"firstname\">Leave This Blank:<\/label><input type=\"text\" id=\"firstname\" name=\"firstname\" \/><label for=\"lastname\">Leave This Blank Too:<\/label><input type=\"text\" id=\"lastname\" name=\"lastname\" \/><label for=\"uri\">Do Not Change This:<\/label><input type=\"text\" id=\"uri\" name=\"uri\" value=\"http:\/\/\" \/><\/span><p><label for=\"s2email\">Your email:<\/label><br><input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" id=\"s2email\" value=\"Enter email address...\" size=\"20\" onfocus=\"if (this.value === 'Enter email address...') {this.value = '';}\" onblur=\"if (this.value === '') {this.value = 'Enter email address...';}\" \/><\/p><p><input type=\"submit\" name=\"subscribe\" value=\"Subscribe\" \/>&nbsp;<input type=\"submit\" name=\"unsubscribe\" value=\"Unsubscribe\" \/><\/p><\/form>\r\n\n<a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"\/voicedwhispering.php\" style=\"display: none;\" title=\"eDY u  dw  sr\"><\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lymphadenopathy is a common ID consult, but it\u2019s usually a clue, not the diagnosis. A structured approach can simplify what often feels like a broad and complex differential. This is a summary of a chalk talk developed by Molly Hillenbrand, MD. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":562,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[246,247,44,243,25,3],"class_list":["post-6566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chalk-talk-summary","tag-bridge-id","tag-chalktalksummary","tag-idmeded","tag-idstep","tag-learnid","tag-unmcid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/562"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6566"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6588,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6566\/revisions\/6588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/infectious-disease\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}